do you come to be here? Are you with…?’ He indicated the dig.
‘Yes, I did finally become an archaeologist.’
He reached out his hand to help her to her feet. It was as she remembered, lean but steely strong.
‘It was always what you really wanted, I recall,’ he said. ‘You used to talk of it.’
‘You mean I bent your ear endlessly,’ she reminded him, dusting herself down. ‘Goodness knows how you endured me!’
‘I liked it. You were so passionate about your favourite subject, it made your eyes light up. So you finally achieved your ambition, and now work with Mrs Manton, who, Carlo assures me, is the very best. Why are you laughing?’
‘I must thank Carlo for his good opinion.’
‘His—? You mean—?’
Her eyes teased him. ‘Uhuh!’
‘You are Mrs Manton?’
‘I plead guilty.’
He groaned. ‘I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me, except that you’re young to have such a reputation.’
‘Ah, but I’m the best,’ she reminded him, laughing.
‘I’m sure you are. Well, it’s good to know that an old friend is doing this work.’
‘Not just me. I have a team that I use for big jobs. They’ve gone back to the house for some lunch.’
‘Then let us do the same. It’s too hot to stand out here.’
‘Now I remember,’ he said as they drove back. ‘When Carlo called me he mentioned a team, and that you’re all staying in the house.’
‘I hope you don’t mind your house being invaded. It keeps us close to the work.’
‘Of course. Where else would you stay?’
Joanna was getting her bearings. She had seen him and, although an intensely attractive man, he was no longer the romantic Prince Charming of her memories. She was full of relief. Everything was going to be all right.
‘I’ll have our lunch served in my office and we can catch up on old times,’ Gustavo said as they approached the house.
But in the same moment Carlo appeared at the top of the steps, waving gleefully as he saw them.
‘It will have to wait,’ Gustavo said. ‘Let’s go in so that I can meet your team.’
The next hour was taken up with introductions. Gustavo greeted everyone involved in the dig and joined them in the buffet lunch. He behaved perfectly, spending time with each one and giving them his whole attention.
Joanna knew that this was part of noblesse oblige, something he’d been taught from childhood as the gracious behaviour expected of a prince. But the effect was still charming, and she was amused to notice that the three young women in her team flowered under it.
Claire had only just left college, cheerfully called herself the dogsbody of the group, and obviously regarded Gustavo with almost schoolgirl admiration.
Raven-haired Lily was an anthropologist, a blazing beauty and an incurable romantic who fell in love in ten minutes and out again in five. One look was enough to tell Joanna that Lily was already far gone.
Even Sally, a short, stern young woman, who was always gruff except when dealing with computers, gazed up at Gustavo, her attention riveted.
It forced Joanna to see him through their eyes, not overlaid by memories of how he had been, but as the mature man he was now, and she had to admit that she understood their reaction.
He’d been very young when she had loved him, little more than a boy. Now the years had brought him to his prime, and his prime was splendid. He seemed to have actually grown, but had merely filled out. As a boy he’d been too lean for his height. Now the slight extra weight he carried made him impressive.
He smiled suddenly, and at last she saw something familiar. It was more of a half-smile, as though some part of him was holding back, concealed behind it. Just as it had always been.
‘Does anyone know where my daughter is?’ he asked, looking around.
‘She’s probably with my son,’ Joanna told him. ‘They get on well.’
‘You have a son?’ he said swiftly. ‘How old?’
‘Ten.’
‘And your husband—is he with you here?’
‘No, we divorced a couple of years back.’
‘We must talk later. I want to hear all about you.’
‘And I about you.’ Then something caught her eye and she pointed to the door. ‘That’s Billy, coming in now, with Renata.’
He turned at once, smiling at the little girl, making a quick move towards her. For a very brief moment Renata smiled, but it was gone so quickly that it was clear she had suppressed it. When Gustavo tried to hug her she gave him only the slightest response.
‘This